Chapter Summaries

After robbing two Tianfeng Military District Energy Block depots, Qu Jianlei’s team stayed in Tianfeng and pretended to investigate the mysterious tribulation passer. The military avoided a deeper investigation, and the chapter ended with Da Vinci finding a privately mined Energy Stone Mine.

• Two Above Supremes robbed Tianfeng Military District’s reserve depots, leaving a warning that the military had disturbed someone passing thunder tribulation.
• The military increased security, concealed the incident, and blamed no one publicly, while Xiao Hu discovered that the reported losses exceeded the amount the team had taken.
• Digital Phantom remained in Tianfeng, and its Battalion-Class Ship returned with a new Energy Block shipment under the pretense of investigating the tribulation passer.
• Jing Yuexin and Duo Gan accompanied team members shopping for supplies, while Xiao Hu planned a humanoid avatar and the Artifact Spirit sought materials for Spiritual Qi Conversion Arrays.
• More than a month after the ship landed, Da Vinci reported that he had found a privately mined Energy Stone Mine.

Qu Jianlei led the battalion-class ship to the Mineral Star, where the Mining Management Department had taken over Digital Phantom’s mine. He forced its personnel to withdraw, while the imprisoned miners and their former guards waited to see whether Digital Phantom would free them.

• Da Vinci stayed on the Experimental Platform on Tianfeng to cultivate while Qu Jianlei took the battalion-class ship to gather Claire and Tian Yin from Sky Hook.
• The battalion-class ship reached the Mineral Star and confronted the Mining Management Department’s company-level warship and an Armed Merchant Ship.
• Qu Jianlei and two companions appeared above the planet, released overwhelming Coercive Pressure, and ordered the gun emplacements to power down.
• Qu Jianlei learned that no Above Supreme was present among the Mining Management Department’s personnel and gave them half a minute to leave the mine.
• The A-rank official ordered the personnel to withdraw, and more than two hundred miners, guards, and logistics workers came out.

Digital Phantom freed the prisoners at the mine, punished those who had abused them, and guaranteed protection for a woman who forced one of her assailants to marry her. The team then arrived on Kunhai Star and sought a meeting with the Mining Management Department’s chief.

• Hua Xiezhi questioned the old Above Supreme about the prisoners’ abuse, and Claire let the victims choose whether to take revenge or leave punishment to her.
• Claire and a B-rank female warrior killed several of the Mining Management Department personnel, while the woman threatened an A-rank Awakened One until he agreed to marry her.
• Jing Yuexin and Qu Jianlei guaranteed the woman’s safety, and Qu Jianlei ordered the remaining detainees treated without humiliation before Digital Phantom departed with several captives.
• Seven days later, Digital Phantom arrived on Kunhai Star, declined Kajia’s offer to visit, and waited for the Mining Management Department to arrange a meeting.
• The military told the Mining Management Department that Digital Phantom wanted to see its chief, prompting the department to visit the team.

Mu Guang confronted the Mine Management Department’s head over the seizure of Digital Phantom’s Energy Stone Mine and rejected his explanations. The official pleaded to negotiate as Mu Guang demanded an explanation and questioned whether he was worthy of one.

• The Mine Management Department’s head arrived to meet Digital Phantom and offered Mu Guang a set of Divine Script codices, which Mu Guang refused.
• Claire brought out two restrained people connected to the department, and the head recognized them as the people involved in the mine seizure.
• Mu Guang asked whether the head had ordered the seizure, and the head said the department had reported the mine to Imperial Headquarters as an ownerless private Energy Stone Mine.
• Mu Guang said the mine belonged to Digital Phantom and accused the department of confiscating it despite knowing whose it was.
• The head swore he had not known of Digital Phantom’s connection to the mine, but Mu Guang demanded an explanation and warned that the consequences could extend beyond the people directly involved.
• The head tried to negotiate as Mu Guang turned to leave, but Mu Guang sneered and asked whether the head was worthy, repeating that they wanted an explanation.

Mu Guang demanded compensation from the Mine Management Department’s Above Supreme for the Mineral Star, but the official claimed he lacked the authority to decide. After headquarters refused to take responsibility, he resolved to pass their response to Digital Phantom and let everyone face the consequences together.

• Mu Guang brought the Above Supreme aboard the Battalion-Class Ship and demanded satisfactory compensation, including three additional Mines beyond the Mineral Star.
• The Above Supreme protested that transferring the registered Mineral Star exceeded his authority, while Mu Guang threatened him and gave him ten days to resolve the matter through his superiors.
• Mu Guang threw the official off the ship, and the military’s reactions and the returning witnesses made clear that Digital Phantom had killed more than a dozen people and had little reason to fear the Mine Management Department.
• The Above Supreme reported the Mineral Star’s original owner to headquarters and asked them to withdraw, but headquarters insisted he alone must bear the consequences.
• The Above Supreme grew furious at headquarters’ refusal and decided to relay its position to Digital Phantom, even if it meant they all died together.

The Mine Management Department agreed to let its Pearl Star Region officials resolve Digital Phantom’s demand for three mines locally, without Headquarters taking responsibility. A Supreme negotiated with Mu Guang, offering a mine and proposing targets for the other two, including the Hegel Family, whose role in discovering the Mineral Star and pursuing its mining rights had been concealed.

• After Headquarters hinted that Pearl officials could act as they saw fit, it refused to offer mines from other star regions or take responsibility for local fallout.
• The Supreme met Mu Guang again and offered compensation for the original Mineral Star plus an operating mine, promising to erase the transfer from official records.
• Mu Guang rejected seizing a mine outright, so the Supreme proposed appointing Digital Phantom to inspect the production records of a mine tied to his predecessor’s rivals.
• The Supreme asked whether Hegel had ties to Digital Phantom and revealed that the Hegel Family was pushing to sell the Mineral Star’s mining rights.
• The Supreme explained that the Hegel Family had helped discover the Mineral Star and participated in the process while concealing its interest in securing a stake and fees.

The Supreme offered up the Hegel Family as the instigator behind the Mineral Star incident, but Mu Guang demanded another five billion Energy Blocks before letting him go. Digital Phantom arranged to pursue control of another mine and decided to strike the Hegel Family before they could offer an apology, while the family learned that Digital Phantom had identified them as responsible.

• The Supreme told Mu Guang that the Hegel Family held major stakes in several mines and had instigated the attack, but Mu Guang demanded five billion Energy Blocks in addition to the promised compensation.
• Jing Yuexin agreed to arrange an inspection of the mine through Duo Gan or her own people, and Qu Jianlei said they could use Digital Phantom's name and settle for a controlling stake.
• After Claire raised concerns about rising mine prices, Qu Jianlei and Mu Guang agreed that Digital Phantom should move against the Hegel Family without first warning them.
• Hua Xiezhi urged them to hit the Hegel Family hard before allowing any apology, and Qu Jianlei approved the approach.
• The Hegel Family learned that Digital Phantom had been wronged on the Mineral Star and considered seeking mediation, but the Mine Management Department's Supreme asked them to put in effort as well.

Digital Phantom retaliated against the Hegel Family, killing its top fighters on Kunhai Star and then traveling to Blessing Star to target its wider network. After the team rejected the family’s peace offer, Qu Jianlei and the others began their operation against its powerful members.

• Digital Phantom attacked three Hegel Family offices and five Settlements on Kunhai Star, killing an Above Supreme and seven A-rankers while sparing most lower-ranked personnel.
• The Hegel Family yielded, sought terms through intermediaries, and learned that Digital Phantom’s Battalion-Class Ship had departed after the Mining Management Department’s Above Supreme paid compensation.
• The Hegel Family concluded that Digital Phantom was likely heading to the Core Circle or Thorn Star Region and warned its members to lie low.
• The Battalion-Class Ship reached Blessing Star, where Xiao Hu and the others gathered information about the Hegel Family and learned it was seeking peace through Duo Gan’s subordinates.
• After three days of reconnaissance, Digital Phantom planned to strike on the fourth night, targeting the Hegel Family’s gathered A-rankers and an Above Supreme professor at Chaoyang Academy.

Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin confronted Empire Storm and Old Tree near Chaoyang Academy, while Jia Shuiqing arrived to support them. Empire Storm admitted he had hoped to persuade Digital Phantom to avoid further conflict, but his resentment toward Jing Yuexin had also driven him to test the group; the confrontation ended with the two Above Supremes outnumbered and under threat.

• Qu Jianlei entered Chaoyang Academy to find the visiting Above Supreme, while Jing Yuexin waited outside to provide support.
• Qu Jianlei confronted Empire Storm in the woods, and Empire Storm called Old Tree over, saying he had not been waiting for Qu Jianlei.
• Jing Yuexin appeared and demanded that Empire Storm and Old Tree explain why they were there, while Jia Shuiqing arrived behind Old Tree and stopped him from retreating.
• Old Tree said he had come to speak with Duo Gan, while Empire Storm claimed he wanted to persuade Digital Phantom to avoid worsening the Empire's crisis.
• Empire Storm admitted he still resented Jing Yuexin and had wanted to test Digital Phantom's strength, leaving Qu Jianlei and the others ready to attack.

Qu Jianlei and his companions confronted Empire Storm and Old Tree after discovering their ambush, then demanded compensation rather than fighting. Old Tree offered five billion Energy Blocks, while Empire Storm was left to negotiate his own penalty.

• Jing Yuexin mocked Empire Storm for hiding nearby and admiring her beauty, while Qu Jianlei challenged him and Old Tree to settle matters in space.
• Old Tree refused to fight, claiming he was suffering from the world's backlash, and Empire Storm apologized but admitted he had wanted to curb Digital Phantom's growing momentum.
• Old Tree urged Empire Storm to offer compensation, and Qu Jianlei agreed to negotiate rather than cause further losses to the Empire's combat strength.
• Old Tree offered three billion Energy Blocks, then raised the amount to five billion when Old Lady Jia questioned his worth.
• Old Lady Jia told Empire Storm his situation was different, and he asked whether they intended to demand artifacts as compensation.

Old Tree and Empire Storm negotiated compensation with Digital Phantom after their mediation failed, agreeing that Empire Storm would pay one hundred billion Energy Blocks within half a month. Old Tree later informed Chaoyang Academy that he and Empire Storm could no longer mediate, leaving the Hegel Family's Above Supreme to consider his own safety.

• Old Tree persuaded Jia Shuiqing to accept Energy Blocks at market price instead of artifacts, and Qu Jianlei approved Empire Storm's offer of one hundred billion.
• Old Lady Jia gave Empire Storm half a month to gather the Energy Blocks, and Nutrient Solution told him to deliver them through him or Duo Gan's people.
• After Digital Phantom left, Empire Storm asked Old Tree to notify Chaoyang Academy because he feared the failed ambush would damage his reputation.
• Old Tree informed Chaoyang Academy that Digital Phantom had arrived and departed, and that he and Empire Storm could no longer mediate the conflict.

After Digital Phantom attacked the Hegel Family’s gathering points, the family agreed to transfer shares in three Energy Stone Mines to avoid further losses. Claire negotiated the deal, and despite delays caused by greedy shareholders, the Hegel Family completed the transfers by the deadline, substituting a different mine after one seller demanded an excessive price.

• Two Above Supremes abandoned their mediation, and the Hegel Family learned that Digital Phantom had attacked two gathering points, killing more than twenty A-ranks.
• The Hegel Family agreed to give Digital Phantom shares in three Energy Stone Mines as compensation.
• Jing Yuexin and Mu Guang rejected the offer as insufficient, and Claire took charge of negotiating better terms.
• Claire demanded that the Hegel Family complete the share transfers within half a month, and the family accepted her terms.
• Shareholders demanded steep premiums, so the Hegel Family used Digital Phantom’s threat to pressure them and changed one of the mines being acquired.
• The Hegel Family bought shares in three mines by the deadline, and Claire had Duo Gan’s experts assess the replacement mine.

Claire negotiated with the Hegel Family’s Supreme over Digital Phantom intervening against a family that had exploited the Hegel Family during its mine crisis. Qu Jianlei and the others accepted sixty billion Energy Blocks instead of mine shares, then warned the offending family to come to Blessing Star within half a month, leaving it isolated and facing possible punishment.

• The Supreme told Claire that a shareholder had known Digital Phantom would ultimately own the mine, and he tried to persuade her to punish the family for its disrespect.
• The Supreme offered compensation, including twenty percent of the offending family’s shares, but Claire said she could not decide without consulting her team.
• After assessing the Hegel Family’s predicament, Qu Jianlei and the others authorized Claire to negotiate for a lump-sum payment rather than shares.
• The Supreme raised his offer to sixty billion Energy Blocks, and Qu Jianlei and the others accepted because the Abode urgently needed funds.
• Qu Jianlei and the others used Jing Yuexin and Duo Gan's subordinates to announce that anyone with objections to Digital Phantom should come to Blessing Star within half a month.
• The offending family realized the situation had changed after informed factions distanced themselves, leaving it exposed to Digital Phantom’s threat.

Claire negotiated with a former duke family that had driven up prices, demanding compensation and warning them not to threaten Digital Phantom’s standing. The family agreed to pay fifty billion Energy Blocks within fifteen days, while Claire reaffirmed Digital Phantom’s protection of the Hegel Family.

• A Supreme from the former duke family met Claire to resolve the dispute, and she said the family needed to pay practical compensation to avoid appearing unafraid of Digital Phantom.
• Claire rejected the Supreme’s offer of twenty billion Energy Blocks and demanded eighty billion, then refused his offer of two hundred and eighty billion to abandon the Hegel Family.
• The Supreme bargained Claire down to fifty billion, and she set a fifteen-day deadline while warning that refusing to settle would mean speaking with blades.
• The former duke family officially agreed to pay fifty billion within fifteen days and write off past grudges.
• The Hegel Family’s Supreme regretted that Digital Phantom had not attacked the duke family, and Claire rebuked him and reminded him that Digital Phantom was protecting his family.

After Digital Phantom took over three mines from the Hegel Family, its growing influence made other Energy Stone mines wary. Qu Jianlei and his allies found that their plan to use an assessment team to seize a rival mine had stalled, as the mine suspected a trap and rival owners began watching Digital Phantom’s response.

• Jing Yuexin sent a third-party Assessment Team to investigate a rival mine, but the mine’s staff delayed access to records and personnel without openly refusing to cooperate.
• The mine grew suspicious after hearing that Digital Phantom was entering the industry and had acquired three mines from the Hegel Family, then forced the Assessment Team to leave.
• The Assessment Team accepted other assignments, while rumors about Digital Phantom and the Mine Management Department’s settled dispute made mines across the region increasingly cautious.
• The Mine Management Department’s Supreme warned Jing Yuexin’s subordinates that the growing unease was hindering the seizure and insisted he had not caused it.
• Qu Jianlei and his allies realized that other mine owners might be testing Digital Phantom by offering up a rival, and they doubted the mine would be easy to acquire.

After giving up on a fourth Energy Stone Mine, Qu Jianlei’s team spent four months buying supplies on Blessing Star before an attack on one of Jing Yuexin’s subordinates drew them to Kunhai Star. There, they learned the attacker was a long-hidden Death Warrior, and Mu Guang considered going after the mine owner who had been sacrificed.

• Qu Jianlei decided the team could abandon the mine they had wanted because their three existing mines already met their goal, and the team finished buying supplies on Blessing Star.
• Jing Yuexin learned that a C-rank member of her subordinate’s Assessment Team had been badly injured in a shooting on Kunhai Star, while one companion was killed and another wounded.
• Qu Jianlei’s team traveled to Kunhai Star, where the Mine Management Department’s Supreme explained that the attacker had died by suicide in detention and that tensions among mine owners were high.
• The Supreme reported that the mine owner blamed the attack on a rogue employee and stayed away in the Core Circle, while investigators found the employee had lived under a fake identity for over twenty years.
• Mu Guang asked whether genetic comparisons had revealed the Death Warrior’s origins, then suggested capturing the mine owner.

Digital Phantom’s group encountered Feng Yese, who revealed that the recent attacks were driven by Uncle Heng’s effort to avenge Feng Wenshan and investigate the mine’s disputed ownership. Feng Yese apologized for Uncle Heng’s actions and explained how the events unfolded, leaving the group with the truth behind the trouble.

• Mu Guang questioned the Mine Management Department powerhouse about the risks of capturing the mine’s largest shareholder, while Claire detected someone approaching.
• Feng Yese revealed his identity after Jing Yuexin demanded that he drop his disguise, and the group learned he was Feng Wenshan’s youngest son.
• The Mine Management Department powerhouse connected Feng Wenshan’s death to the mine, whose shares had passed to the current owner after Feng Wenshan disappeared.
• Feng Yese explained that Uncle Heng had acted independently to avenge Feng Wenshan and suspected the mine’s shareholders of being responsible for his death.
• Feng Yese said Uncle Heng had left a timed message before attacking the Assessment Team, and that he had followed the Mine Management Department powerhouse after tampering with his Hover Car.

Feng Yese revealed that the mine’s shareholders had concealed both output and reserves, then returned with Uncle Heng’s evidence for the Digital Phantom Team and the Mine Management Department. He asked for the illegal mining rights to be revoked and tentatively requested a tiny share of the mine once the evidence was reviewed.

• Feng Yese told the Mine Management Department’s Above Supreme that the mine held at least two trillion Energy Stones in undeclared reserves and said Uncle Heng had left evidence.
• Feng Yese refused to hand the evidence directly to the Mine Management Department, saying he trusted the Digital Phantom Team more, and Mu Guang agreed to let him retrieve it.
• Feng Yese returned two hours later with two storage devices, and the Mine Management Department’s Above Supreme clarified that he was acting alongside the Digital Phantom Team.
• Jing Yuexin forgave Feng Yese for injuring her subordinate, while Qu Jianlei asked what outcome he wanted.
• Feng Yese asked for the mine’s rights to be revoked and its responsible shareholders held accountable, then requested a symbolic one-percent share before lowering his request to two or three thousandths.

Feng Yese received a five-percent stake in the Energy Stone Mine and was appointed its manager, while Qu Jianlei explained that Digital Phantom wanted to attract more mine-discovery information. Digital Phantom landed on Kunhai Star to support the Mine Management Department, but headquarters resisted its involvement as the dispute over control of the mines escalated.

• Mu Guang offered Feng Yese five percent of the mine’s shares, and Feng Yese accepted the stake and agreed to manage the mine.
• Mu Guang and Qu Jianlei discussed using the reward to encourage people with mine information to approach Digital Phantom, while the team considered the Empire’s response to its growing influence over mines.
• Qu Jianlei delayed the team’s return so Digital Phantom could support the Mine Management Department during the tense situation on Kunhai.
• Digital Phantom’s Battalion-Class Ship landed openly on Kunhai Star, and the local Mine Management Department reported the matter to headquarters and recommended action.
• Kunhai told headquarters that Digital Phantom considered the mine worth acquiring, prompting headquarters to reject the explanation and worry that Digital Phantom was repeatedly taking mines off the department’s management roster.

Qu Jianlei and Digital Phantom resolved the Pearl Star Region mine dispute, then continued traveling across the Empire to test spells and conduct experiments. After their reputation and research drew growing attention, Bai Jinhan and Nelson visited the Experimental Platform with a military invitation to research the Mystic Mansion.

• Kunhai officials forced headquarters to approve a joint investigation into private mining, and the mine owner was arrested while other shareholders returned their profits and paid fines.
• Qu Jianlei and his group left Kunhai, practiced spells on uninhabited planets, and occasionally returned to the Experimental Platform on Tianfeng Star through its Teleportation Array.
• Digital Phantom's spell tests on remote planets attracted starships, leading the group to move on and the Empire to recognize Tianfeng as a place to pass messages to them.
• Bai Jinhan and Nelson visited the Experimental Platform, where Zhenshan Fort welcomed them and heard that the military wanted to know if Digital Phantom would research the Mystic Mansion.